The new Maserati Quattroporte GT S has been conceived and developed as “a real driving machine in the guise of a luxury saloon” and to provide Maserati with a range-topping version of the Quattroporte.

The key technical changes to the new Quattroporte S to produce the Sport GT-S include:

• The mapping of the V8 4.7 litre engine, with power increased from 317 kW to 323 kW;  
• The gearshift management software, with new features designed to increase driving enjoyment and sharpen gear-changing;  
• The front and rear suspension system featuring single-rate dampers, stiffer springs and lower ride height; 
• The sports exhaust controlled by pneumatic valves for a deep, throaty and captivating sound.

The more aggressive performance of the Quattroporte Sport GT-S is matched by exterior and interior enhancements:

• The new black grille with concave vertical fins featuring the Trident logo with red accents, typical of the sportier versions of Maserati models;  
• The new headlights, in metallic titanium finish;  
• The side and rear “shadow line”, which includes black finishing around the doors, body-coloured door handles and black twin oval exhaust pipes;  
• The new M-design seats with perforated Alcantara® and leather upholstery;  
• The standard trim in Titantex, a “titanium coloured” composite material.
• The new Quattroporte Sport GT S will be unveiled at the 2009 NAIAS in Detroit during the Maserati press conference which will take place on the Maserati stand at 09:40 on 12 January 2009. Australian and New Zealand prices and specifications will be announced when it arrives in the third quarter of 2009.

The Indianapolis 500 is usually seen as the very definition of motorsport in the USA thanks to its long history and domination by American cars and drivers. After the track was paved with 3.2 million bricks – hence the nick name ‘The Brickyard’ – the first 500 mile race was held on 30 May 1911 and the race was won by Ray Harroun in a Marmon Wasp.

Before the race became the home of American car makers, the Europeans did have an early period of success at the home of American motorsport, culminating with Maserati’s double win in 1939 and 1940, the first back to back win by a driver in the 500, with Wilbur Shaw at the helm of a Maserati 8CTF. Shaw’s wins in the Maserati not only provided historic wins for the Modena marque, they also provided Shaw with the launch pad to save ‘The Brickyard’.

After his 1940 win, the race track was closed and its owner, Eddie Rickenbacker, was planning to demolish the track and turn it into a housing estate. Shaw had other ideas and using his fame as the winner of the last two races at the track before World War II, he persuaded Tony Hulman to buy the track. As a reward for his services, Shaw was appointed president and proceeded to turn the Indianapolis 500 into ‘The Greatest Automobile Spectacle in the World’. It would be fair to say that, along with Shaw and Hulman, Maserati played a significant role and ensuring the future of the Indianapolis 500 by providing the car that took the event’s saviour to the winner’s podium.

Built by Maserati from 1933 to 1935, the Maserati Tipo 8CM was seen by many as the definition of the 3.0 litre pre-war Grand Prix car and it was a development of this car, the 8CTF, of which just three were built in 1938, that took Wilbur Shaw to his historic win driving car chassis number 3032. Powered by a 2991 cc eight cylinder engine producing 366 bhp, the 8CTF was designed by Ernesto Maserati and had a top speed in excess of 290 kmh. The two wins by Shaw in chassis 3032 were not its only visits to Indianapolis. After the War it returned in 1946 and 1947, with Ted Horn at the wheel finishing third and fourth before a final outing in 1949 when it failed to complete the race due to an oil leak while running in the top five.

Chassis 3032 is known as the “Boyle Special” as it was originally entered by Union Leader and notorious Chicago gangster Michael “Umbrella Mike” Boyle and it now lives at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway hall of Fame Museum.